In a shocking incident, three sisters - aged two, four and eight - were found dead at their house in Mandawali area of east Delhi. The autopsy report suggested that the sisters died because of hunger.

The autopsy report suggested that the sisters died because of hunger. (Representational Image, Source: IE)

In a shocking incident, three sisters – aged two, four and eight – were found dead at their house in Mandawali area of east Delhi. The autopsy report suggested that the sisters died because of hunger. Police said that they were found unconscious in their one-room house by their neighbours at around 1 PM on Tuesday and the government has begun a magisterial probe into the incident that has shocked people in the ‘richest’ state of the country.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, East, Pankaj Kumar Singh, said that there were no injury marks on the bodies. “When their neighbours went to the house, they discovered that the girls were numb while their mother, who was also present in the house, did not know anything,” he added.

The kids were taken to the Lal Bahadur Shastri (LBS) Hospital by their mother and neighbours, but were declared dead. Singh said that the family had recently shifted to Mandawali at a relative’s place and the kids’ father – a casual labourer – had lost his e-rickshaw and has been missing since Tuesday morning.

The police said that the minors’ mother is mentally challenged and was unable to look after them. It is yet to ascertain the cause of death but Medical Superintendent at LBS Hospital, Amita Saxena, said the kids died of hunger, going by the first autopsy conducted at the hospital.

A second post-mortem was conducted at a different hospital as they wanted to be doubly sure. However, it also revealed the same cause of death – starvation.

A Sub-Divisional Magistrate is at the house to conduct the probe, a Delhi government official said. Meanwhile, deputy chief minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia, in whose constituency the incident took place, said in a tweet that he would visit the house on Thursday morning.

The opposition parties, meanwhile, have attacked the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on the issue.

The BJP said that instead of playing politics over ration distribution, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government should concentrate on meeting the basic needs of the people. “Such a sad incident is happening in Delhi where the government claims to be championing the cause of providing ration to the poor,” Delhi BJP President Manoj Tiwari said.

The Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken also took on AAP in a series of tweets. He said that under the party’s rule, the number of ration cards has gone down.

“Three kids die due to starvation in Delhi’s Mandawali. Post-mortem being shifted to GTB Hospital from LBS Hospital in a bid to get the desired reports. This family doesn’t have the ration card. The number of ration cards has gone down to 15 lakh from 33.5 lakh during earlier Congress rule in Delhi,” his tweet read.